At The Fillmore East

 

A couple of years ago, the thoughtful THC Daughter surprised me with the program from the Fillmore East for the weekend of May 16-17, 1969.  The acts for that weekend were It's A Beautiful Day, Sweetwater, and headliners The Who, with the U.S premiere performances of their new album Tommy, which was released on the 17th.  My daughter tracked it down because I'd attended one of those shows - the early one on May 17 - but I had no recollection of ever seeing the program before.

The Fillmore East was located at 105 2nd Ave in New York City in the run down area known as the East Village.  Opening its doors in March 1968 and closing in June 1971 it was the premiere rock concert hall in the city, a counterpart to the Fillmore West in San Francisco, both operated with an iron hand by promoter Bill Graham.

The format was very different from concerts today.  Most of the time there were three acts on the bill and they played two sets each night for two different audiences.  You went to the early show or the late show.  I attended three concerts at the Fillmore and it was the early show each time because we had to take the train in from Norwalk, CT, arriving at Grand Central, and then taking the subway downtown.  Even going to the early show we didn't arrive back in Norwalk until at least 1 am.

I first attended the Fillmore on the last weekend of November 1968 - Jefferson Airplane with opening act Buddy Guy.  The Airplane was a much heavier sounding band live than on recordings and Buddy Guy was spectacular, coming off the stage and marching down one of the aisles, playing the guitar behind his back. The 86 year old Guy is embarking next year on his Damn Right Farewell Tour.

The last night of the Fillmore in June 1971 I went to see Albert King, J Geils Band, and The Allman Brothers (with the original lineup).  Going in, I was most interested in J Geils, and they did a terrific set, but the Allman Brothers were simply on a higher plane, particularly at the end, playing Hot 'Lanta, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, and Whipping Post (here's a post I did about that night).

So, with that, let's take a peek inside this relic for a look at the music, art, and culture of the late 60s.

Announcing the release of The Youngbloods new album, Elephant Mountain.  I was already a fan of the band, owning their previous album Earth Music.  Elephant Mountain features their greatest song, Darkness, Darkness.

The Electric Circus was a smaller venue in the East Village.  If you like the blues you'll recognize many of these names like Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker (both of whom I saw perform), Rev. Blind Gary Davis, Big Mama Thorton, Slim Harpo, and Otis Rush.

 

Next up are three stores near the Fillmore; OM, Thulcandra "Holy Things for Your Head & Body", and Kasbah.  They came with the times, and when the times were over, so were they.

 An ad for Pinball Wizard, the first single off Tommy, already a hit in the U.S. 

Ah, the Village Gate, a renowned jazz club.  Imagine seeing a double bill of Richard Pryor and the Miles Davis Quartet!  Or Dizzy Gillespie and Theolonius Monk.  The Majestic Men's Store features a guy in a cape.  Capes were big then.  Okay, I'll fess up - I had a cape.  In the lower right is a mysterious ad with options to call The Scene or Steve Paul.  Paul was the owner of The Scene, a popular New York club as well as managing guitarist Johnny Winter.

 Speaking of which, here's Johnny Winter and his just released first album.  There was a big buzz about Johnny and he had a good run as a hero blues guitarist though his brother Edgar hit it bigger with 1973's Frankenstein.  I'm not sure how well the line "A White Flame Ignited by Black Blues" would play today.

 The magnificent Joe Cocker!  His debut album, With A Little Help From My Friends, came out in April 1969.  I still remember the first time hearing his cover of the Beatles song.  It was thrilling and amazing.  On Sgt Pepper the song was an enjoyable and catchy ditty sung with elan by Ringo.  In Cocker's hands, and in 3/4 time, transformed into a desperate plea for help.

 Never heard of the Silver Apples, apparently a 60s electronic music band.  I like the passive-aggressive promotional approach with an added touch of pretentiousness; "Silver Apples is not a sound one can jump right into, but rather takes cultivation. I personally have passed the "what the hell is that??" point and gotten to where I can listen and dig what they are saying . . . "

The Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals would take place in July, a month before Woodstock.  Look at the lineups!  Jazz featured Miles Davis, Gary Burton, Mothers of Invention, James Brown, Anita O'Day, Sun Ra, Jeff Beck, Roland Kirk, Jethro Tull, while at the Folk Festival you could see Van Morrison, Johnny Cash & June Carter, Everly Brothers, Joni Mitchell, Arlo Guthrie and Muddy Waters.  And look at the ticket prices!

 Sly & The Family Stone.  So much great music over a four year period before Sly's drug problem got the best of him.

 

Four stores in St Mark's Place which was Hippie Heaven.

 

Interesting combo on this page.  Village Oldies, "The Really Heavy Record Shop", with a photo that has nothing to do with its business (can't remember seeing anyone actually wearing that "dress"), along with an ad for the new Grateful Dead album, another commercial failure (deservedly) for the band.

WNEW FM.  That brings back good memories.  Find out why.

And now the lineup for the weekend.

 

The Who, The Who.  Best rock band I saw in concert.  I'd never heard anything like the sound this band generated.  I wrote in an previous post about their performance that night:

One of the best shows I've ever seen.  They opened with some of their older material, then ripped right through the entire Tommy album, and then started a wrap up.  It was astonishing, Keith Moon in constant motion on the drum kit, looking like he had no bones in his arms, Townshend windmilling on the guitar, and Entwhistle's thundering bass.

As the band and the audience grew more frenzied we noticed smoke in the theater.  Some type of announcement was made to exit the place but we ignored it.  Then we saw a guy in a suit wander onto the stage, grab a microphone and start to talk.  Roger Daltrey pinned his arms back and Townshend walked over, all the while continuing to play his guitar, and kicked the guy in the privates.  Actually, it sounds better when Daltrey tells it, which he does in his recently released autobiography, Thanks A Lot Mr Kibblewhite:

" . . . this bloke jumped up onto the stage and grabbed the microphone off me.  I grabbed it back and told him to fuck off, but he kept struggling.  As we were wrestling with it, I noticed Pete crossing the stage toward us, doing a Chuck Berry duck walk.  Perfectly on beat, he kicked the bloke in the balls, then I grabbed the mic, and we finished the song." 

The next thing I remember dozens of New York City policemen flooded down the two aisles, the side doors flew open, and they pushed us out along each row and onto the street.

It turned out the building next door caught fire and they were worried about the Fillmore catching fire.  We didn't care.

Daltrey and Townshend were arrested for assaulting the guy grabbing the mic, who turned out to be a plainclothes police officer.  

 

Sweetwater?  I remember absolutely nothing about them.

 

This band, which I'd never heard, played a gorgeous set, with soaring, graceful ballads from their debut album which would be released in June, like White Bird and Hot Summer Day, all illuminated by the electric violin of David LaFlamme. 

More coming in Part 2.